Crisis Leadership - Winston Churchill

Our first scenario see Churchill behaving in ways which might surprise those who only know him from the heroic war years. He adopts an approach to the initial stages of the naval war which prove to be unsuccessful. We see several of the key theme in play simultaneously - instinct v intellect, addiction to action and low awareness of repeating patterns being prominent.

However, all that being said, we will each respond to events in our own way. Where one person senses pigheadedness another might sense a valiant effort to raise public morale.

At few points in the life of a crisis leader is it easy to form a unanimous judgement about the correct choice of action.

Crisis leaders must be comfortable with high levels of uncertainty and ambiguity.

Symbols and metaphors are the interface between the conscious and the unconscious mind.

Real transformation has to take place in the sub-conscious before it can manifest in outer reality. Hence, the importance of relating to events atthe emotional and figurative level first.

Imagine that an aspect of the scenario reminds you of pages in a book. At the conscious level they are just that and no more but at the symbolic level they have a different identity altogether and can change shape and move across space and time in limitless ways.

Once you get the symbolic perspective on an aspect of your leadership the transformation process begins inevitablty and in spite of your conscious mental processes.

We are faced with a dilemma when we consider how Churchill responded to the failure of his convoy strategy. He sacked his main critic and misinformed the Nation. Was he measuring the need to maintain morale or protecting his own reputation?

Was he constitutionally incapable of resisting the urge to race into fixing the problem to prove that actions were being taken or was he verging on the reckless?

Do you recognise this conflict in your own approach to crisis?

Does the thrill of activity blind you to a more considered response or do you tend to procrastinate and avoid doing anything at all.

The scenario contains most of the elements of the key themes we previously identified.

Here we see the implications of the less robust aspects of Churchill's leadership style prior to 1940.

Judged purely on results this can't be rated as a high point of his career. Nonetheless, the situation is far from crystal clear which is what makes it so fascinating as the subject of reflection.

There are many factors to be considered and it is this complexity which makes a definitive assessment impossible. The point is that that crisis leadership is massively ambiguous and it's hard to get into the mind of another person as if you were with them at that moment.

Helicoptering above the scene gives you the chance to enage with it more comfortably rather than being awash with the emotions which were in play at the time.

Norway was a fiasco but not fatal. Churchill learned from it and because he remained true to himself and his underlying principles his reputation was not fatally undermined.....but it was close.

One of the most difficult decisions in Churchill's career was the destruction of the captured French Fleet which in Nazi hands would have threatened Allied shipping.

Projection into the scenario is emotionally draining. Even today historians struggle with the moral issues which were faced in those moments.

The decision required a ruthless determination to carry out strategy in the full face of the certainty that blameless men and women who shared the cause would perish.

At at a strategic level this action sent a message to the world that the UK meant business. Some argue that this event was designed to help focus US attention on the War. US participation was the cornerstone of Churchill's strategy.

For you the question is not to judge the scuttling but to reflect on your own mental processes in instances where moral and strategic imperatives collide.

Churchill's reflection on his early life are brimming with magnificent symbols. Once again what they mean and how you respond to them is unique to you.

It seems hard to imagine that the absence of his parents could not have affected his developing psyche.

His relationship with his distant ancestors was arguably as close at that with is parents and that must have had an impact on the way he related to the World.

By musing on the genesis of repeating patterns in his life based on childhood events you may get a better appreciation of the way the formative experiences of your life ripple through your leadership today - for better or worse.

Here we model a Symbolic Landscape. The elements are laid out and shown to relate to each other. There may be more components and they may interact in far more exotic ways than we have suggested.

The important thing is that you grasp the concept that in the Symbolic world, as for Alice in Wonderland, the landscape is fluid and can morph at will. Time and space obey a different logic.

We have used a simple illustration here, less to tell you about Churchill and more to open up your own access to the symbolic figures which populate your own psychoactive inner reality.

This is where your self awareness and capacity to transform can move into a new dimension.

This period in Churchill's life is easy to overlook in comparison with the heroic feats to come, but from a leadership perspective it throws up many lessons.

Do you give yourself time to delve deep into your core beliefs and principles?
Do you research the texts and background facts beneath your core values?
Can you sit with yourself and observe from the sidelines when you are not called on to handle a crisis?

These were not wasted years and the learning which emerged from them were not immediately apparent. Churchill approached the early months of the war in a combative mood. He had also in this period read widely across the vast sweeps of history and recognised how he must transform in order to vanquish Hitler.

In the Pre-War years we see Churchill's response to his unusual upbringing played out without any restraint.

This Churchill was, in my view, a danger to himself and it's a miracle of Destiny that he survived at all. Few leaders had his breadth of experience before coming to high office. He had killed men in battle, fought in the Caribbean, Afghanistan, India, France and South Africa. He had been in a Cavalry Charge, an ambush and a daring escape.

Have your early career experiences prepared you for crisis leadership?

How would you sum up at the symbolic level your readiness to handle leadership in moments of extreme stress?

Finally the heroic war time leader emerges.

Now we hear the inspirational voice calling the Empire to Arms.

Despite his early catastrophic failures he emerges with undiminished confidence in his ability to fight a war in which all the odds are stacked against him.

This is the perfect moment to scan your own feelings about taking the helm in the heart of a crisis and to assess how well you can and where change might be required.

In this phase Churchill lays down a symbolic leadership identity which has come to define the art of handling crisis.

What picture would you like others to perceive of you as you rise to the challenge?

Listen closely to the language which Churchill uses and count what you believe to be the symbols, metaphors and similes. This speech bears comparison with the great Shakespearean soliloqies.

Imagine yourself pacing your office floor searching for the imagery to inspire in your crisis?

How easy do you find it to let go and access the inner symbolic realms from which creative genius flows?

This episode to the perfect counterpoint to the Norwegian fiasco.

Churchill now transforms his style and instead of meddling he cuts through to the key issues and intervenes wit precision to get the job done. He is prescient in appointing other leaders who can helicopter above a scene to see the Big Picture and then swoop in pefectly to align the elements of the scene for maximum effectiveness?

Do you still meddle or can you move up to the next level of process engineer with strategic oversight?

What does leadership of this type feel like to you?

As with the Scuttling of the Fleet we see the leadership challenge of morality versus strategic imperative.

History will record that Churchill rid the world of Tyranny and restored Liberty and Democracy. The price was high on all sides and we should never forget that Fire Bombing was knowingly a device which could not and was never intended to be controlled.

We might describe this as the capacity to "unleash the Dogs of War and Cry Chaos."
Could you make that call?
The process of modelling these situations is emotionally draining. Do not extend yourself too far.

Are you paying adequate attention to the effects which your style and presence are having on others during a crisis?

What feelings do you think you'd like others to embody as the effect of your leadership?

Have you asked people what symbolic associations that make with your modus operandi?

This period is more closely documented than any other. It's hard to dissociate from the media symbolism of those times. However, here we take a perspective on the criticism which Churchill faced and ask you to consider how you would cope in the same circumstances. Don't forget the monumental decisions which he had already taken and the stakes at risk.

Would you have been able to have faced your critics face to face in Parliament and have remained both calm and able to inspire the Commons to back you despite not yet having produced real results?

Try to visualise yourself at the despatch box getting ready to reply to the motion of censure?

The Allies had won the war but the world had become a significantly less safe place to exist. All British efforts left the Empire in ruins. A New World Order emerged and Britain had a diminished role to play in it.

The public rejected Churchill at the next General Election yet despite all that he fought on.

Is the fighting spirit, so vital in a crisis, an addiction which prevents an orderly withdrawal into normal life?

Once you have had the thrill of crisis can you relax back into the regularity of daily life or do you itch to find the next crisis?

In the end, what lessons can you learn about yourself and the meaning of your life after reflecting on "All of That?"

A final recap of the repeating patterns and themes in crisis leadership.

Instinct versus Intellect - especially when in conflict with expert advisers
Managing the flows of information as propaganda and to maintain morale
Handling criticism in particular when you have been proven wrong
Attitude to authority and the conventions of social practice
Moral choices versus Strategic Imperatives
Brutal self awareness
Understanding repeating patterns of behaviour and the capability to transform
Forming a strategic vision and knowing when to change course or persevere
Communication to inspire in the darkest hours of crisis
Interpersonal skills and reading character
Team building - trust versus ruthlessness
Micromanagement versus Business Process Improvement
Overcoming personal insecurities
Addiction to crisis

Legacy - how you will be remembered for the choices you made day by day during the crisis period

Can you detect the areas where you might need to tranform the symbolic approach which you currently take to these subjects and manifest altered behaviours in your daily operations?

If you would like to explore the Symbolic Modelling of any aspect of your leadership please Send a Message and we will let you know more about the process.

Thank you for taking this course and Good Luck in your next crisis.